Sirius XM Recovers The Ball
Just one week ago, I wrote a scathing article regarding Sirius XM and the NFL, titled Sirius XM Fumbles The Ball. Experience had led me to believe that a full marketing campaign would begin near the end of the season, as had seemingly been the case for several years now. The end result has usually resulted in an advertising campaign that came too late in the season to bring any real results to the bottom line. I admit I wanted to ignite a fire, and perhaps I did just that.
My opinion remains firm that not reaching out to the 35 million out-of-market NFL fans (not to mention the possibly larger pool of college football fans) would be inexcusable as it represents billions of dollars in potential revenue to the company. With the Labor Day weekend approaching and summer coming to a close, football season will begin its annual kickoff countdown. The final preseason NFL games begin in earnest tonight and the weekend itself promises a football fan’s dream lineup of college offerings.
A quick check of the games available on Sirius now reveals what may be a new marketing campaign in the works. The Sirius home page reveals a new version of the Sirius mascot (mongo) holding a football with the gridiron offerings taking center stage. The NFL page reveals new graphics touting “Every Game, Every Week, EVERYWHERE” along with a new contest called the straight up pigskin pick ’em game which challenges listeners to beat the experts. There have also been sporadic reports of Sirius XM commercials being broadcast during last weeks preseason exhibitions.
Critics will be quick to point out the expenses involved out of ignorance. Most already know that a marketing budget exists and how it is spent is another matter. Spending those same dollars on something as promising as promoting Sirius’ exclusive NFL and NCAA college football offerings is money well spent, as opposed for instance to rebate offers. SiriusBuzz recently reported certain marketing costs that may have been eliminated and has since learned of an apparent hiring freeze as all Sirius and XM job listings have been removed from both websites.
Has Sirius XM picked up the ball as I challenged them to do? It’s beginning to look that way.
Position: Long SIRI
don’t even try to take credit for the advertising campaign! They started advertising on the NFL network (where REAL football fans reside) long before your “fumble” article.
This is a good sign yes.
But I WANT to see a tv commercial like XM’s commercial with Big Poppy saying EVERY TEAM EVERY GAME!
That was probably the most memorable sat radio commercial I’ve ever seen, as I STILL can’t get that phrase out of my head.
Mel would be wise to use it with FOOTBALL. Perhaps having a football star like Brett Favre(since hes in the news alot lately) saying the Big Poppy line…
Yeah…I really won’t get TOO excited about them picking up the ball until I see that football commercial. And I’m not talking about the SUPER BOWL commercial which you know is gonna happen. But rather a commercial to announce the combined company. What better way than to kick it off with a football commercial NOW.
Perhaps using Mad Dog? That way they’d promote BOTH the NFL on sirius AND Mad Dog’s new show.
win win.
Brandon,
I just had to comment. You stated that you “wanted to start a fire and perhaps you did”. Do you really think that your post has influenced a multi-billion dollar company?
Perhaps your fleeting thoughts and opinions are important to you, but launching a marketing campaign is much more involved.
It always amazes me that the hosts of so many blogs genuinely think that their opinions are altering the decisions that are made by true professionals with decades of experience.
My advice: Start your own business and let others who know very little of your enterprise play “Monday Morning Qurterback” and pass judgement on your efforts.
—Looking forward to seeing a blogger who somehow doesnt pat themselves on the back within their articles.
Scott Lewis
Give me a break, do you really think you influenced their marketing strategy. I think you self-perceived power has gone to your head there kiddo.
Ok. Maybe I pushed the envelope a bit. I’m just glad to see some moves being made. The window dressing could have been different.
Advertising on the NFL Network, which is not available on most cable systems, is not a good use of the ad dollars. I have directv so I get the channel, but in my area, (East Coast) I do not beleive the channel is available on any of the cable systems. Indeed, there is occassionaly an article in which the issues are hashed and rehashed as to why the channel isnt on cable. So if they really want to do something with ad dollars, target the channels where the regualar season games will be played, CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN. ESPN is big time with college football too. That would make more sense to me.